When I was younger I always loved blackberry picking in the autumn. Growing up in Swanage, I was really lucky to be able to walk up to the end of my road and be immediately in the Dulston Nature Reserve. We now have to venture out a bit further for rich blackberry pickings, but there's no shortage of countryside days out around Bristol. The National Trust in particular have a Great British Walk campaign going on and, as you've seen in previous posts, we love a good day out with the NT!

Yesterday we popped up the M5 to Newark Park, which is an old hunting lodge surrounded by miles of Cotswold countryside. We strolled around the 3.5 mile route, tupperwear in hand and enjoyed the late summer (or early autumn?) sunshine. Although a bit late in the year for filling boxes with blackberries, we managed to pick plenty to make these delicious friands!

Friands are pretty much my go to bake for a quick and easy treat - they are little cakes made of egg white and ground almonds which are so light and fluffy. They also only use 50g of flour which is really easy to substitute with a gluten free blend and get the same effect. I also make them in small muffin cases so they are like little bites and you can completely justify eating 5 in a row!

1. Whisk the egg whites in a bowl until they are foamy (just getting to soft peaks and definitely no stiff peaks)

2. Sift in the icing sugar and flour then add the ground almonds and melted butter. Mix gently until combined.

3. Distribute the mixture into muffin cases to about 2/3 full. Press in the blackberries gently.

4. Cook in an oven at 190 degrees centigrade for 20-25 minutes. Using the small cases they tend to brown quite quickly, but don't worry and continue to cook until cooked in the middle. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes and then on a rack.